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can someone tell me if this is a pest?

Hi all, i have been raising bees for couple years now. This year i see a new pest i think. It Is a lighter color gray b that is fast. it is about the same size is a honey bees and they don't like it around. I took some pictures you can view them here.

Re: can someone tell me if this is a pest?

All I see is a Carniolan or Caucasian bee hovering in the air above the bottom board in your photo. It may be a robber from another colony. Heck, I've seen plenty of colonies, that due to breeding, the queen produced bees of both Italian and Caucasian appearance.

Re: can someone tell me if this is a pest?

Only thing I see is honey bees, they can be of different colors and stripes from the same hive due to the breeding with different drones.

I would be more worried about all of the trash that is on the bottom board, looks like you could have wax moth damage inside.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Originally I did thing a robber from another colony, then read about some type of bee that gets in and lays eggs and kills the queen and takes over the hive... doesn't sound like that. Thanks for the thought on Wax Moth. I gave them some old frames that they've been cleaning. I checked the hive today. Everything looks ok inside.

Re: can someone tell me if this is a pest?

Originally Posted by welldrainedsoil

then read about some type of bee that gets in and lays eggs and kills the queen and takes over the hive... doesn't sound like that.

I did see a program of exactly what you are referring to. It was in Africa and as far a I know, there isn't a bee like that in the States. I tried to google the name of the bee, but I couldn't find it.

Re: can someone tell me if this is a pest?

Extend your landing board and you see what’s happen, you will find many more little dry larvas. There is chalk brood on your landing board. From the debris I would say your hive is highly infected. It is a disease and there is no medication available. The fungus kills larvas in the cell and they dry out. It lucks like a chip of chalk, as soon as the spores grow the chip change the color to grey. There are lots of good articles about chalk brood on the internet.

Re: can someone tell me if this is a pest?

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have seen a few larva come out like that Chalky look. The majority of the capped larva was beginning to come out and the numbers of the hive were getting much larger. Last night i had a bear come and decimate both hives. I am going to move them into the fenced garden and combine the hives. There is only like 2lbs of bees left I think.

I'll keep looking for chalk brood after they begin to get organized again.

Re: can someone tell me if this is a pest?

Originally Posted by Joseph Clemens

All I see is a Carniolan or Caucasian bee hovering in the air above the bottom board in your photo. It may be a robber from another colony. Heck, I've seen plenty of colonies, that due to breeding, the queen produced bees of both Italian and Caucasian appearance.